With investment from TUI Ventures in November 2016 and Brockhaus Private Equity in May 2017, Peakwork has strengthened its international resources and addressed new markets to extend its network of partners around the globe.
DUSSELDORF – Peakwork is expanding its management team to meet its international expansion plans. Major business areas will be placed under new direction as of November 1st.
The Peakwork C-level management team will increase from five to six members: The new CEO of Peakwork will be Jan Gerlach. To date, as part of the management team, he was responsible for sales and project management. He will continue to focus on sales and global expansion. The current CEO, Ralf Usbeck, will be new Chairman of the Supervisory Board, in order to focus on the company's strategic and innovative orientation.
Michael Schmidt, co-founder and former COO, has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer and will focus on technical developments. Former CTO and co-founder Markus Pfau leaves the management board in order to concentrate on technical software innovations within the company. Dr. Thomas van Kaldenkerken remains responsible for finances and human resources in his role as CFO at Peakwork.
Annika Kessel has been appointed as Chief Digital Officer. Formerly Peakwork’s Senior Vice President Global Business, Annika will retain responsibility for business development with a focus on digital topics such as global expansion through strategic partnerships. Her new role will also encompass responsibility for Peakwork frontend solutions. Also new to the management team is Andreas Damm, taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer, responsible for account and project management. His profound expertise for many years in managing business units e.g. at Vodafone adds great value to structuring Peakwork’s operations. Joao Gonzaga joins as Chief Product Officer. Joao is an internationally experienced manager previously responsible for the development of technical products and solutions for international brands in the USA and Germany.
Ralf Usbeck explains the new management structure: "Peakwork’s vision is based on the integration of new service providers and internationally established sales channels and we have already established new business relationships with several strategic partners around the globe." Usbeck will continue to drive these developments actively in the future. "The company is now at a point where expert resources combined with strategic first-class knowledge and experience in all core areas of the company have to lead the way. We are confident that our proven team, along with new colleagues Andreas Damm as COO and Joao Gonzaga as CPO, positions us well in the respective fields. And our new CEO, Jan Gerlach, already has the confidence and recognition of our customers and partners." Jan Gerlach sees the company strengthened for the future and confirms: "With these new strengths on the management team, we are pleased to present the Peakwork solutions to existing and new customers."
With investment from TUI Ventures in November 2016 and Brockhaus Private Equity in May 2017, Peakwork has strengthened its international resources and addressed new markets to extend its network of partners around the globe.
The management team will be supported by the high-caliber supervisory board: The latest newcomer, Jens Bischof, CEO of Sun Express, provides sound airline and tourism expertise. Frank Rosenberger, executive board of TUI, advises from a global tour operator perspective. Joachim Nellissen and Chehab Whaby have been legal and strategic consultants for many years. Ralf Usbeck assumes the chairmanship of the supervisory board from Markus Voelkel, the long-standing chairman and investment expert: "Markus Voelkel has accompanied us for many years as chairman of the supervisory board and as a friend. We thank him for his many years of active support."
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
